Paramedics Providing Palliative Care at Home Project
Expanding services to improve access for palliative clients and their families
Paramedics Providing Palliative Care at Home is ensuring that when palliative care clients in Interlake-Eastern RHA call 911 for emergency medical care, they will now receive care from from paramedics trained in a palliative approach to care. Paramedics will deliver care in alignment with clients’ care plans that reflect their medical needs and personal wishes for care.
A Need for Expanded Services
Regional statistics
• Primary care providers register approximately 20 new clients with the regional palliative care program every month.
• At any given time, the palliative care program is supporting 80-100 clients and their family members. The vast majority of clients (75 to 85 per cent) have identified a desire to die at home.
• The palliative care program supports approximately 350 clients annually. Approximately 80 per cent of clients are living with cancer diagnoses.
• Of Canadians who have a preference, 75 per cent would prefer to die in their home.1 Only 15 per cent have early access to palliative home care.2
1. What Canadians Say: The Way Forward Survey Report December 2013.
2. Access to Palliative Care in Canada. Canadian Institute for Health Information 2018.
Project Objectives
• Enhance paramedic education with training on a palliative approach to care • Improve care providers’ access to client information when and where it’s needed• Improve connections to support integration of primary health care, palliative care, home care and paramedic services to ensure a consistent and collaborative approach to support clients’ palliative goals
Project Benefits for Clients and Families
• Additional support for clients registered in Interlake-Eastern RHA’s palliative care program
• Maintained access to emergency medical care when needed with the addition of paramedic ability to deliver a palliative approach to care to complement the palliative care program
• Where possible, prevention of unwanted transport to hospital in accordance with clients’ wishes
Care Providers – General
• Improved information sharing among paramedics and other care providers
Care Providers – Paramedics
• Increased knowledge, comfort and confidence in providing palliative care in clients’ homes
• Increased access to necessary supports for delivery of palliative care
• Increased job satisfaction
Health Care System
• Reduced palliative care client visits to emergency departments for clients who prefer to remain at home
• Ongoing improved delivery of palliative care services to meet growing demand
Next Steps
Delivery of this enhanced service started October 19, 2020. The next stage of the project is to focus on expansion.
Project Background
Provincial and federal partnerships rooted in the desire to enhance care
The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) are jointly providing up to $5.5 million over the next four years to improve patient care by expanding access to palliative and end-of-life care through projects in six provinces.
In February 2017, CFHI and CPAC issued a call for expressions of interest from organizations wanting to undertake projects in their province. The Paramedic Association of Manitoba (PAM), working with Interlake-Eastern RHA and the EMS branch of Manitoba Health Seniors and Active Living, successfully obtained approval to submit a detailed project proposal. PAM asked Interlake-Eastern RHA to assume the role of lead partner. In fall 2018, the project was approved and a tripartite agreement was established among IERHA, CPAC and CFHI to design, develop and implement a sustainable regional palliative care service to support the provision of palliative and end-of-life care at home. The intent is to establish this service throughout Interlake-Eastern RHA by 2022, within the approved budget of just over $700,000.
RESOURCES
Regional – Interlake-Eastern RHA Materials
Information on Paramedics Providing Palliative Care
Paramedic Relevant
